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I Think I need wheel bearings, definitely need advice

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MikeGreen, Jul 5, 2016.

  1. MikeGreen

    MikeGreen Junior Member

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    Hey guys, a bit confused about whats going on with my car.

    I took a 500 mile road trip this past weekend and about halfway through my steering started feeling looser than normal. I thought hey, I have a car with 230k on the clock, must be loose tie rod ends.
    After a while my car started to vibrate periodically at speeds over 65 and when I had to stomp on the brakes the car started wobbling and swerving a little. By the time I got home the car felt super unsteady, was vibrating like crazy and the noise got much louder whenever taking right turns.
    I thought it must be the front left wheel bearing! Jacked the car up and tried to shake the tire, couldn't get it to budge. Putting the car in neutral and spinning the tire didn't produce anything unusual except the noise of the brake pad sliding on the rotor.

    At this point I'm not sure if I missed something, or maybe it's the front right bearing? I'm pretty confident its a front suspension problem from the way the car was feeling and the increasing steering play.
    Thanks in advance for the help!
     
  2. JessO

    JessO Junior Member

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    When was the last time you replaced breaks and rotors? That's what it sounds like it could be.
     
  3. MikeGreen

    MikeGreen Junior Member

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    I bought the car with 216k and I've only taken apart, cleaned, then reassembled the front left caliper.
    The brakes don't seem like a likely cause to me, the problem intensified during turns at speed, the vibration wasn't affected by braking at all, and brakes don't mess with steering play. But that'd be an easy fix, I do remember there being some corrosion on the inside face of the front left rotor, enough to cause the brake to wear away on top of it.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no noises at all?
     
  5. MikeGreen

    MikeGreen Junior Member

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    When I'm driving its pretty loud from vibration, I briefly noticed a high pitched humming around 60 mph, but it when away as I went faster.
    The only real noise I noticed is a loud humming sound when I took a long bend in the parkway doing 65, it only occurred taking a right, a similar bend going left didn't produce any noise
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    another possibility is a cv joint. trying to think how it might affect steering feel.
     
  7. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    How did you rule out tie rod ends? Getting an estimate at an alignment shop might be a good next step, unless you know how to check tie rods, all bushings, and ball joints. The steering gear itself could be at fault, too. If the steering feels loose, start with the obvious--the steering.
     
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  8. MikeGreen

    MikeGreen Junior Member

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    I only considered them ruled out for a couple reasons
    1) When I jacked up the tire and tried shaking it left and right I couldn't find any play.
    2) I didn't think that a tie rod end problem would escalate this quickly (within 500 miles)
    3) This is mainly a vibration problem and that seemed more inline with wheel bearings. The entire front end of the car vibrates like crazy over 70
    4) there isn't much play in the steering wheel, it feel almost like a singular tire gets loose when I change lanes on uneven surfaces or under hard braking

    almost all of those reasons are totally guesses... I'm about to leave work so I'm planning on jacking up both front tires and trying to hear some wheel bearing noise when I spin them. If that ends up inconclusive I guess I'll have to take it to an alignment shop. I try really hard to do all my own work because I'm pretty strapped for cash but I'll bite the bullet if i have to.

    Now that I think about it the inside edge of both front tires are wearing prematurely, I though I just had too much negative camber for some reason and was planning on trying to align the car myself. Do you think the wear could be a symptom of a worn suspension part?

    Thanks again for all the help, don't know what I'd do with a solid forum of car knowledge!
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That bit only sounds like one of your four brakes is not working, but not sure with all the other symptoms. Anyway, fwiw:

    We had a car with one of the rear brakes gone AWOL after a (professional...) brake bleed job. Braking took extra effort, the anti-skid kept coming on, and the car would kinda sway as you came to a stop. After a few days of head scratching I jacked up the rear, and had someone apply brakes while I spun both wheels: one was not working at all.
     
  10. MikeGreen

    MikeGreen Junior Member

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    Turns out a weight fell of off one of the front wheels!
    I had a hunch so I swapped the front drives side tire with the rear drivers side, took it for a drive and the car still vibrated but the steering wheel was much steadier. I got the tire balanced and the car's perfect now!
    I guess the loose feeling in the steering on the parkway was from the steering rack vibrating so hard or something along those lines.
    Thanks again for the help.
     
    Graz, valde3 and Mendel Leisk like this.